Joyce Tsuji

When Joyce Tsuji decided to leave a planned gift to the UW Department of Biology, she thought it would be the perfect opportunity to honor her mentor and friend Raymond Huey.

In the mid-’80s, Joyce studied for her doctorate degree at the UW. Reflecting on that time, she remembers how difficult it was to fund her research. “Even though I had a fellowship and support from the department, sometimes it was hard trying to buy a piece of equipment or paying to go to conferences,” she says. Through her gift, Joyce will help graduate students with those same costs.

But when Joyce thinks back on her studies, it’s Ray’s mentorship that sticks in her mind. “Ray was always willing to support and help and respond to a question. He encouraged me to take novel approaches to test scientific theories and gave me a lot of life lessons.”

One of those lessons: “Be appreciative of everybody you work with, including those who support you—the office staff, people in the machine shop, anybody in the building who’s helped you out,” she says.

“He led by example,” she adds. “If the office staff worked extraordinary hours to get his grant in, he would bake them a cheesecake and take it to them the next day. He was an excellent chef, so this was no ordinary cheesecake.”

Joyce continues to pass on the lessons she learned from Ray to the younger scientists she mentors.

When asked how she would tell Ray about the gift, Joyce says, “I wanted to give back for all the help I received as a graduate student. I really appreciate all the support and encouragement you gave me when I was going through graduate school. Therefore, I think this is only fitting.”